Vegetarian Diet
The idea of following a vegetarian diet plan is to alleviate the needless suffering and deaths of farm or wild life animals for eating meat. Another premise is that cutting back on meat is healthier because it reduces the amounts of saturated fat in diet. The vegetarian diet plan makes use of a variety of vegetarian protein sources such as tofu, legumes, whole grains, nuts, eggs, cheese and tempeh.
A typical 1500 calorie vegetarian menu may be comprised of apple pancake, eggs, strawberries and skim milk in breakfast; leek, asparagus, black beans, and herb soup in lunch; and pine apple, curried cashew burgers, orange-infused green beans, and roasted peaches in dinner. There are different types of vegetarian diets such as lacto-vegetarian, lacto-ovo vegetarian, ovo-vegetarian, and vegan.
Lacto-vegetarian diets exclude meat, fish, poultry, but allows milk, butter, cheese, and yogurt. Lacto-ovo vegetarian diets exclude red and white meat but allow eggs and dairy products. Ovo-vegetarian diets exclude seafood, meat and dairy products but allow eggs. Vegan diets exclude poultry, meat, fish, dairy products, eggs, and all foods that contain these products.
Individuals who follow vegetarian-style dietary habits are less likely to become obese and contract certain illnesses such as cardiovascular disease, colon cancer, high blood pressure and diabetes than people who do not follow such patterns. This is due to the consumption of lower-calorie, more filling foods such as fruits, vegetables and beans that are rich in nutrients, phytochemicals and fiber.
However, certain nutrients particularly vitamin B-complex are naturally abundant in animal-based foods such as meat, eggs and dairy products and excluding these foods from diet may lead to a deficiency of B vitamins in vegetarians.
